The First Day of Our Lives
by Lamourxxdivine
Summary: Naley is 8 months pregnant. Prom is coming up, as is graduation. Brooke and Lucas are together. Lots of twists and turns, don’t want to give anything away but the story is definitely full of surprises! Mostly NaleyBrucas
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of these characters. All I own is this plot! **

It's Saturday morning. Lucas, Brooke, Nathan, and Haley are at the café having breakfast. Karen has just given birth to her daughter, and is resting in the hospital. Deb is taking over the place until she's back. Prom is only a week away.

"So pretty girl, are you done with your prom dress yet?" Lucas asks Brooke sweetly.

"Almost. But I already told you, no peeking! Plus, it'll look even better on your bedroom floor on prom night, I can promise you that," Brooke replies with a smirk.

Haley laughs. "God, Brooke!"

"Sorry. What about you, Tutor Girl? Have you found a dress yet?" Brooke looks over at her best friend.

"Ugh don't remind her, please!" Nathan groans.

"NO!! Everything I like, I can't fit into! It's like some sort of evil curse!" Haley looks down at her breakfast.

"Well, baby, either that or you're pregnant," Nathan says gently.

Haley punches him playfully. "It's all your fault!"

"Eh, I don't know Hales," Brooke says with a smile. "But I actually paid attention in Health class and I think it takes two to make babies."

"Okay, I've heard enough, really." Lucas drops his fork and picks up his glass of orange juice.

"Hun, have you tried dress shopping at an actual maternity store?" Brooke asks.

"No, she's in denial to the fact that she's now carrying the weight of two," Nathan answers for her.

"I'm not in denial. I just can't stand looking at all those huge dresses. Eight months ago I would've been able to fit into a skimpy, little black dress. Now I have to shop at a store with 30 year old soccer moms."

"Come on Hales, stay positive. I'm sure you'll find something," Lucas tries comforting her, unsuccessfully.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm going dress hunting again tomorrow. Maybe I'll have some luck then. And if not, I'm just going to skip out on prom."

"Oh come on Haley, you don't want to miss your last prom!" Brooke looks shocked.

"And I also don't want to go looking like a giant, miserable hippo wearing a poncho."

"Please, not the poncho," Nathan groans.

"My point exactly."

"Look at it this way, Hales. In a few months you're going to be a total MILF! You're a lucky man, Nathan Scott," Brooke winks at Nathan.

"I tell myself that every time I see that smile…" Haley smiles at him and they kiss tenderly.

Just as the gang is finishing up their breakfast, Peyton walks in holding her sketchbook.

"Sup P. Sawyer! You just missed Deb's killer scrambled eggs. She's no Karen, but these eggs are to die for." Brooke hops up to hug Peyton.

"Nah, I'm not here for the food. I just sort of felt uncomfortable being home alone, even in broad daylight. Big baby, huh? Anyway, I knew I would find you guys here so I decided to drop by."

AN: Psycho Derrick incident has recently happened. After stalking her, he attacked Peyton at her house; Lucas and Brooke came in and saved the day, and now Derrick's in prison.

"Peyton, I meant it when I told you, you're welcome to come stay with us in our apartment until you get over this," Haley says.

"Hey, you can stay with me and Rachel too. Just try not to pull each other's hair out." Brooke laughs, trying to lighten the mood.

"Thanks guys, but I'll never get over this fear if I try running from it."

"Well, Psycho Derrick's behind bars now so you don't have anything to worry about. And if you ever need anything at all, Nate and I are just a call away." Haley reaches over to squeeze Peyton's arm.

"We all are," Brooke nods.

"Thanks. I love you guys."

With this, Peyton looks over at Lucas and they make eye contact. He smiles at her casually, but his arms are wrapped around Brooke. Peyton looks back down at her sketchbook, lost in her thoughts. _Why won't these feelings for Lucas just go away already? He's in love with Brooke. What would she say if she found out her best friend has feelings for her boyfriend? What a mess. _

"Alright gang, what are you all up to today?" Brooke asks.

"Haley and I are doing some more shopping for the baby. We're still working on his nursery," Nathan puts one hand on Haley's tummy proudly.

"Oh please, you guys have been working on that nursery since before you even found out you were pregnant." Brooke rolls her eyes.

"Very funny," Haley fights back the urge to giggle. "No, it's just that we want it to be perfect by the time Baby Scott decides to drop by."

"Trust me, that place is full of stuff Baby Scott doesn't even need. I think the kid has so many stuffed animals in there he could start a zoo." Lucas shakes his head with a smile.

"And who's to blame for most of that, exactly?"

"What?! I can't help but spoil my first nephew." Lucas leans over to talk to Haley's tummy. "Isn't that right, little Baby Scott? Uncle Luc is going to spoil you rotten."

"Anyway, I think we should meet up for dinner tonight. It's been a while since we've all gotten a chance to sit down and just hang out. No baby talk, no talk about graduation or college. None of that responsibility junk. Just fun fun fun!" Brooke says with the usual cheerleader pep in her voice.

"Alright, that sounds good to me. But we should really get going right now. Nate's got his heart set on buying Baby Scott a mini basketball hoop." Haley stands up slowly.

"Please! The kid's not going to be able to shoot hoops for at least another 5 years," Peyton laughs, relieved to finally be thinking about something other than Derrick.

"You can never be too prepared. See you guys later!" Nathan takes Haley's hand and they leave.

Peyton, Brooke, and Lucas are still seated at the table but Peyton feels awkward watching them together. Brooke notices something's on Peyton's mind and makes a mental note to ask her about it later.

AN: Well there's my first chapter. Don't worry, I already have so much planned for this story but I had to start somewhere. Just stay with me here and leave me some reviews! Thanksss.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of the characters. All that is mine is this plot.**

Nathan puts one arm around Haley while pushing a cart full of toys with the other. They're walking through the aisles of a children's store, stopping once in a while to pick something up and throw it in the cart.

"So I'm looking forward to tonight's dinner," Haley says cheerfully. "I have way too much on my mind right now between the baby and prom and my valedictorian speech."

"Don't worry babe. You're going to do fine. We're going to do fine." Nathan squeezes Haley's arm gently.

"I know, I know. I just need everything to be perfect, you know?"

"It will be. The baby's nursery is more than ready. You'll find your dress and we're going to have an amazing last prom. And you've been working on that speech for the past month," Nathan assures her. "I'm sure it'll be great."

"Yeah. I just need to remember to breathe."

"Please do." Nathan laughs and kisses her on the forehead.

Just then, his cell phone rings. He looks at the caller ID, and rolls his eyes.

"I should get this. I'll be right back."

"Oh, um, okay."

Nathan walks away from where Haley is standing, sorting through the items in their cart.

"What do you want?" Nathan grumbles into the phone, clearly irritated.

"What, I don't even get a 'Hi, dad!' or 'How are you, dad?'" Dan Scott responds on the other line.

"There's a reason why I emancipated myself from you. I told you I don't want anything to do with you. You killed Uncle Keith and then lied to my face about it."

AN: Lucas found out that Dan killed Keith. He told Nathan, but no one else knows yet. Because they have no proof, there's nothing they can do about it for now

"Oh, please. You're still going off on that?" Dan chuckles. "It's unbelievable that you'd believe that stupid boy over your own father."

"What are you calling me for?"

"I spoke to some of the coaches over at UCLA. They've watched you all season and they really want you, Nathan. I even pulled some strings and convinced them to overlook this whole point shaving mess. I arranged for you to call them tomorrow at 2:00 to discuss your future plans."

AN: Keep in mind that in the actual show, the point shaving cost Nathan's future at Duke. I'm sticking with that part of the plot, but without the Haley and Lucas accidents.

"I already told you, I'm going to play for Whitey in college. The performing arts school that Haley got accepted to is really close to there. And living in North Carolina, mom will be here to take care of our son anytime we need her."

"Does Haley know she's ruining your entire future?" Dan sounds menacing.

"Haley told me she'd go anywhere with me. But I know she has her heart set on going to that performing arts school."

"UCLA's a great school Nathan, with a great basketball team. No other decent team wants you to play for them after the shit you pulled. I could even move down to California with you, help you get back in shape."

"Don't you get it? I don't want anything to do with you. I have my own family now and we've made our plans. You're definitely not a part of them." Nathan gets ready to hang up the phone.

"You're making a huge mistake Nathan. You're throwing everything away for what, a woman? I can't believe I raised such an idiot."

"Well this is my life, not yours. And I'd appreciate it if you don't call me anymore. Bye." With that, Nathan hangs up and walks back over to Haley.

"Who was it?" Haley eyes Nathan suspiciously.

"Oh, it was just Luc. Talking about dinner."

"Oh. Okay."

Haley notices that something isn't quite right but decides to let it go. They continue shopping and Nathan doesn't mention anything about UCLA or Dan.

AN: So I hope you guys like the story so far. I love reading reviews, so keep them coming! Chapter 3 is coming soon.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of the characters. All that is mine is this plot.**

Later on that night, Nathan and Haley meet up with Lucas, Brooke, Peyton, and Mouth at a nearby restaurant. Haley still hasn't asked Nathan what was wrong with him all day, but it's bothering her too.

"Aw, it's so good to just hang around with the old gang again," Haley smiles gratefully at her friends.

"Yup, and who thought of it again?" Brooke smirks.

"The one and only Brooke Davis, ladies and gentlemen," Mouth motions at Brooke and laughs.

Brooke laughs and looks at Mouth admiringly. "So, Mouth, you asking Rachel to prom or what?"

"Wooo go Mouth!" Nathan grins.

"Watch it," Haley laughs but swats Nathan's arm lightly.

"I dunno yet. I should, huh?"

"She'd like that." Brooke nods.

"Who are you going with, Peyton?" Lucas asks suddenly.

Peyton looks up, surprised. "Uh, just flying solo I guess. I don't know, I might not even go."

"Okay, there is NO way I'm letting EITHER of my best friends skip out on prom," Brooke declares, slightly annoyed. "Peyton, we're finding you a date. Tutorgirl, I'll come dress shopping with you tomorrow. You can't go wrong with a certified fashion expert at hand."

Haley laughs. "Thanks Brooke. But I have to warn you, I can get pretty frustrated and obnoxious when I don't get what I want."

" Yeah, trust me, it's not a pretty sight. Those damn hormones," Nathan says, clearly amused.

The gang finishes up their dinner, talking and laughing the entire time. The next day, Brooke and Haley go shopping for Haley's dress.

"So what was up with Nate last night? He was kind of out of it," Brooke asks as she shuffles through a few dresses.

"Yeah, I don't know. It started after he talked to Luc on the phone yesterday. He was trying hard to act like nothing was wrong, but something was definitely on his mind all day."

"Hm. He talked to Lucas? That's impossible."

"What? Why?"

"Because I kept that boy busy, trust me," Brooke says with a wink. "And after THAT, we were cuddling and watching movies in bed. I didn't see him touch the phone once."

"Hm. That's weird. Maybe I should ask Nathan about it..."

"Oh my gosh, Hales, you have got to try this on! It's soo hot!" Brooke holds up a short red dress.

The girls continue shopping. After going in and out of several stores and trying on a bunch of maternity dresses, Haley finally finds the one that she likes, and buys it. Brooke drops her off at her apartment. Haley is thinking about how to ask Nathan what's wrong as she fidgets with her keys. But as soon as she steps inside, she sees something that she never would have expected.

"Wha-what's going on here?" Haley asks, almost to herself.

AN: There you have it. So Chapter 3 was short AND it ends with a cliffhanger, sorry guys! Stay tuned and please review!!


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of the characters. All that is mine is this plot.**

Haley is shocked when she opens the front door and sees Dan standing in the middle of her living room, holding a knife.

"Uh, Nathan's not home right now." Haley tries unsuccessfully to hide her panic.

"Oh, it's not Nathan I came here to see. I was waiting here for you."

"Oh, uh, I…"

"So, little Miss Princess," Dan says as he slowly walks toward Haley. "Are you aware that you're not only ruining Nathan's future at UCLA, but also coming between him and his father?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Dan. But I sure as hell didn't have anything to do with Nathan's emancipation. That was all you. You were controlling and selfish, and Nathan finally had enough of it." Haley surprises herself with her sudden courage.

Suddenly, Dan plunges at Haley and pins her up against the wall, holding the knife up to her threateningly.

"Look miss prissy pants, I tried being nice with you. But it looks like you're not getting it. I'm through with trying to tolerate this. I want you to divorce Nathan, take your kid and leave. Or else I'll have to find ANOTHER way to get rid of you."

Before Haley can answer, she collapses out of fear and panic, and is lying on the floor unconscious. Dan is unsure of what to do, so he crouches to the floor next to her and puts down his knife. Just then, Nathan walks through the door.

Nathan's looking down at the stack of envelopes in his hand, unaware of what's going on. "Babe, you really should keep the door locked when I'm not home. It's not…"

Nathan looks up and sees Dan crouched next to his unconscious wife, and as soon as he catches a glimpse of the knife, he tackles Dan and begins punching him.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER? WHAT'D YOU DO TO HER?!" Nathan yells as he continues to punch Dan in the face.

Dan throws Nathan off of him and stands up.

"It's for your own good, Nathan."

Nathan doesn't know whether to wrestle Dan again or crouch down by his wife, but he chooses to do the latter. Dan backs out of the apartment, closing the door behind him.

"Don't worry baby, you're going to be okay. It'll all be okay," Nathan says as he tries to fight back tears.

He dials 911, and the ambulance arrives five minutes later. Nathan climbs in with Haley. At the hospital, he's sitting in the waiting room while the doctors examine her. Lucas and Brooke hurry in and they each sit on either side of Nathan. Brooke wraps her arms around him.

"We came as soon as we got your message. What happened?" Lucas looks like he's about to break down.

"Dan. He had a knife. I walked in and saw Haley on the floor with Dan next to her. Then when I was checking Haley out, he just left."

"Son of a…" Lucas mumbles under his breath.

Just then, a doctor comes out holding a clipboard. Nathan stands up.

"Mr. Scott?" The doctor looks at Nathan with a serious expression.

"Yes."

"How far along is your wife in her pregnancy?"

"8 months. We're expecting in July."

"Hmm. Well your wife is still unconscious, but her pulse is still going so there are high hopes for a full recovery. There's nothing we can do but wait for her to wake up on her own. Since it's been a few hours and she hasn't yet woken, she could be slipping into a coma. But once she wakes up, we can check her out and see if there was any other serious damage."

"And what about the baby?" Nathan asks, panic rising in his voice.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Scott, but at this point it's unclear whether or not he'll make it. We checked his heartbeat and it's slowed quite a bit. But we're doing everything we can to get them both through this. You can go in and see her now, she's in room 215."

Nathan sits back down and puts his head in his hands as tears roll down his face.

"I can't lose them. They're the two most important people in my life," Nathan clears his throat. "They ARE my life."

"I know, sweetie. It'll be okay." Brooke rubs Nathan's back gently.

"Let's go in and see her," Lucas says in a voice barely audible, even to himself.

The three of them get up and go down the hall to Haley's room. Nathan wipes his tears and walks in with Brooke and Lucas following closely behind. Haley is lying in the bed, looking so helpless and fragile in her hospital gown, hooked up to a couple of machines. At first, Nathan looks as though he's about to turn around and walk back out, but he takes a deep breath and sits down in a chair next to Haley.

AN: Ahh, so there's Chapter 4. I already have the next couple of chapters laid out, I just have some finishing touches to add. I promise I'll update soon! Review please!


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of the characters. All that I own is this plot.**

Nathan takes a deep breath and sits down in a chair next to Haley. He takes her small, delicate hand and looks at her helplessly.

"I'm right here baby. I'm not going anywhere."

"Nate, do you want me to go back to the apartment and pack up some stuff?" Brooke looks over at Nathan, who looks completely broken.

"Sure. I'm not leaving this hospital until I know she's okay."

Brooke nods and walks out of the room quietly. Lucas, having trouble looking at his best friend lying in a hospital bed, follows Brooke out.

"Want me to come with you?" Lucas asks uneasily.

"No, I think Nathan needs you right now. Just stay here with him until I get back."

"Okay. Hurry back. I love you," Lucas whispers as they hug and share a quick kiss.

"I love you too," Brooke whispers back and tries her hardest to attempt a small smile.

Brooke leaves the hospital and Lucas goes back into Haley's room, but is unsure of what to say to his brother at first.

"I'm not letting Dan get away with this," Nathan says angrily.

"Hell no. First Keith and now Haley. He can't keep hurting the people we love."

"I swear if I can get my hands on him…"

"I know. Me too."

"Luc?"

"Yeah?" Lucas looks up at his brother.

"For the first time in my life, I'm admitting that I'm scared," Nathan looks down at his hands. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost Haley."

"I know. I don't know what I'd do without her either. But she's going to be okay."

"How do you know?"

Just then, there's a knock at the door. Both Nathan and Lucas look up to see Peyton standing there, a worried look on her face.

"I came as soon as I saw Brooke's text," Peyton says breathlessly. "How is she?"

"Doctors say she's probably slipping into a coma. They're not sure if the baby will make it." Nathan's response sounds tired and half-hearted.

Peyton shakes her head and fights back tears. Lucas gets up and offers her his chair, but she just shakes her head. He realizes how hard it is for Peyton to be in a hospital after her mother's death.

"Hey Peyton, how about we go get some coffee? I'm sure Nathan could use some and I know I can."

"Yeah. Okay."

"We'll be right back," Lucas calls over his shoulder as he leads Peyton out of the room.

They wait for the elevator in silence, Peyton wiping her eyes. Lucas drives them to the nearest coffee shop, and just as he's about to get out of the car, Peyton starts crying again.

"Luke, tell me she'll be okay. We can't lose her. She'll be okay, right?"

"Hey, don't worry. It'll be okay," Lucas says warmly as he wraps his arms around her.

The two of them are sitting in the car in an abandoned parking lot. (AN: I don't know about you but I'm picturing this to be about 11 or 12 PM). For a few minutes, neither of them says a word. Lucas' arms are still around Peyton. She looks up at him, still crying, and finds herself kissing him. Instead of pulling away, Lucas kisses her back. Tears are still slowly rolling down Peyton's face as they continue to make out. Peyton finally stops and pulls away, embarrassed.

"Luc, we can't do this. Brooke."

Lucas suddenly feels guilty and gets out of the car without saying a word. Peyton waits in the parking lot while he goes into the shop and comes out with coffee. He breaks the silence on the drive back to the hospital.

"Look, Peyton. This really didn't mean anything, right? I mean, I'm just so confused and frustrated over Hales right now. This was nothing but two good friends trying to find comfort in each other in hard times." Lucas sneaks a quick sideways glance at Peyton. "I know I'm madly in love with Brooke and she means the world to me."

"Uh, yeah. It didn't mean anything. Brooke doesn't have to find out," Peyton replies, fighting back tears.

They enter Haley's room in silence. Lucas hands Nathan his coffee.

"Well, I should go. But call me if you guys need anything. I'll stop by first thing tomorrow." Peyton looks at Haley nervously one last time before she leaves.

Brooke returns pretty soon with a bag full of Nathan's stuff. She's also holding a stack of sports magazines. After setting it all down, she sits on Lucas' lap and looks at Nathan, who is holding Haley's hand in one hand and has his other hand resting on her belly. He's looking at her intently and biting his lip to keep from breaking down again.

AN: This wasn't one of my favorite chapters to write. But to clear up any confusion, Lucas really DOESN'T have any feelings for Peyton, and he really means what he says to her. He just got caught up in the moment. The kiss DID mean something to Peyton though. Anyways, please review! Chapter 6 is almost done and will be coming soon! Trust me, you guys want to stay tuned.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of the characters. All that I own is this plot.**

Brooke and Lucas leave the hospital eventually, and Nathan spends the night there. Haley still hasn't woken by the next morning. Brooke, Lucas, and Peyton return and they wait in the waiting room with Nathan again while the doctors run some more tests on Haley and the baby.

"Mr. Scott, the baby's pulse sounds much healthier this morning, so we have high hopes for both of them. We just have to wait and see. However, we do strongly advise that you talk to Mrs. Scott. It's widely believed that patients who are in a coma are still aware of the conversations going on around them, and it may do her some good," the doctor tells Nathan before leaving the room.

"Okay. Thank you."

Nathan enters Haley's room again. There are vases of beautiful bouquets all around, and the bright sun is shining through the window next to her bed. He takes his seat next to Haley again and takes her hand in his.

"Hey, baby. So, the doctors told me to come talk to you. I guess they didn't know I've been talking to you all night. I told you just about everything, anything to keep me from falling asleep. I even mentioned some baby names. We've been so busy buying and planning for Baby Scott that we… " Nathan hangs his head as tears fall down his cheek. "We didn't even get a chance to think of a name. So you have to wake up soon, because I'm sure you wouldn't be happy with Michael Jordan Scott, right? Hales, I've said it before and I'm going to say it again. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. You made me a better person. And you're my everything. So you have to wake up, because without you, I don't know what I would be."

Nathan stands up and leans over Haley to kiss her forehead. He stops at the doorway and looks back at her, and then walks out to the waiting room.

"Nate, you really should go home and take a shower, freshen up. We'll stay here with her," Brooke suggests, trying her hardest to hide the sadness in her voice.

"I don't know if I want to leave her. The last time I left her alone, well, you can see how that ended up."

"Nathan you can't blame yourself for what Dan did. You can't protect Haley 24/7. Shit happens, trust me, I think I would know of all people," Peyton tries to smile, despite the tension. "But instead of beating yourself up for what you can't take back, keep faith alive. Because that's all you need, really."

Nathan nods and decides to go home for a shower and a quick nap. Peyton leaves to go to the record shop and pick up some things she ordered, but Brooke and Lucas stay at the hospital with Haley. When Nathan returns, Brooke and Lucas hang around a while longer and then go home. Later that night, while Nathan's reading the sports section of the daily paper, an unexpected visitor knocks on the door. Nathan looks up, and anger rushes through him when he sees who is walking into the room, holding a bouquet of flowers.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Nathan puts down the paper and stands up.

"Relax. I was back in town and I stopped by the record store. Peyton mentioned what had happened, so I decided to stop by."

"You're not welcome here. You tore our family apart once and I'm not about to let it happen again."

"Wow, a baby huh?" Chris says as he looks over at Haley's tummy. "I had no idea. Well there goes Haley's dream of a music career."

"Haley's happy with the baby. We both are."

"Really? Because she seemed happy when she was touring. With me. I could make her happy again. You and I both know where her heart _really_ is. I'm leaving tomorrow morning, but she can always call me if she's finally ready to leave you. For her music, of course."

At that, Nathan pushes Chris up against the wall.

"Stay the hell away from her," Nathan grumbles threateningly. "You screwed things up for us last year and it took us a long time to get back to how things were. She's made it clear that she doesn't like you."

A nurse rushes in when she sees Nathan getting ready to punch Chris in the face.

The nurse looks at Chris. "Visiting hours are over, I'm going to have to ask you to leave." With that, she turns to Nathan. "Mr. Scott, you really need to behave yourself if you want to continue to stay here with your wife."

Nathan lets go of Chris and the nurse leaves the room.

"Alright, I'm leaving. Tell Haley to give me a call when she's feeling better, though."

"Oh, you bet!" Nathan replies sarcastically.

Chris leaves and Nathan sits back down. He eventually falls asleep, holding Haley's hand.

Finally, at about 2 in the morning, Haley's eyes flutter open. She looks around the room, confused. She calls Nathan, but her soft, tired voice doesn't wake him. She gives his hand a small, gentle squeeze. Nathan gets up and sits down on the bed next to Haley, kissing her forehead.

"Hey baby, we missed you." Nathan smiles down at Haley.

AN: Haley's awake at last! I hope you guys liked this chapter. Please read and review! I should be updating within the next couple of days.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of the characters. All that is mine is this plot.**

"Hey baby, we missed you. How are you feeling?" Nathan smiles down at his wife.

"Ugh, like a herd of elephants are running on my head. What happened?" Haley closes her eyes, trying to remember. "The last thing I remember is Dan holding me against the wall with a knife in his hand. He was saying something about me divorcing you, or else? What was that all about?"

"He said what? Asshole. I'm so sorry about all of this, babe."

"Nate, it wasn't your fault. So your father's psychotic. We all have a bad seed or two in the family," Haley laughs softly.

"I'm just so glad you're back. We should call the doctor in so he can check you out." He kisses her forehead and stands up.

Nathan calls the doctor. He comes into the room and examines Haley and the baby.

"Well I have good news, Mr. and Mrs. Scott. Seems like the baby is going to do just fine. His heartbeat is sounding normal and I don't think there was any real damage done. Mrs. Scott, you'll probably be feeling sore and weak for a few days but other than a couple of bruises where you hit your head, you'll be fine. Just take it easy for a while. We'd like to keep you in the hospital for another night, but you should be able to go home the day after tomorrow."

"Thanks for everything, doc." Nathan sounds genuinely relieved and grateful.

The doctor leaves the room. Nathan and Haley spend an hour talking before both fall asleep, but not before Nathan leaves Lucas a message telling him that Haley has woken up. The next day is prom day. Lucas and Brooke call the hospital and talk to Haley, but she doesn't receive any visitors all morning.

"I'm surprised Lucas and Brooke didn't stop by this morning."

"They're probably just busy with prom stuff. Brooke and Peyton were supposed to help the committee decorate this morning," Haley looks up at Nathan then. "Baby, I'm so sorry you have to miss our prom tonight because of me."

"Don't worry about that. You know that as long as I'm with you and you're okay, there's nothing else I would possibly want."

"Nathan Scott, sometimes I think you're just too good to me."

"So you're not going to leave me?" Nathan's blue eyes search Haley's.

"Of course not. Your dad was just talking. Do you honestly think his threats were going to break us up?"

"It's not that. Someone came to visit you last night, a few hours before you woke up. Someone I really didn't want to see."

"Who?"

"Chris Keller. He was back in town for the day and he stopped by. He said some stuff about you being happy when you're touring with him. And that the baby would put an end to your dreams." Nathan shakes his head at the memory.

"Nathan. I was happy on tour but nothing makes me happier than being with you. And our baby isn't putting an end to anything; he's only a beginning for us. I love you, always and forever. No questions asked."

"I love you too, baby."

Later on that night, Brooke and Peyton get ready for prom together, doing each others' hair and makeup. Lucas, dressed up in a black suit and red tie to match Brooke's red dress, picks them up from Peyton's house. They meet up with Mouth, Bevin, and Skills…at the hospital. Nathan grins as Brooke walks into the hospital room, wearing a beautiful red dress.

"What are you doing here?" Haley smiles at her friends, confused. "You're going to be late for prom."

"Here's the deal, Tutorgirl," Brooke says. "Since you and Nathan can't make it to prom, we all decided to bring prom to YOU."

"We…?"

As if on cue, Lucas, Peyton, Mouth, Bevin, and Skills all enter the room after Brooke. Peyton is carrying a stereo and a stack of cds. Mouth has a beautiful bouquet of flowers. Skills is carrying a bottle of soda and a few bags of chips. Bevin has a handful of blue and white balloons that she lets loose in the room. Everyone is dressed up in serious prom attire. Lucas walks over to Nathan and hands him a beautiful floral corsage that matches the light yellow dress Haley had bought. Nathan slips the corsage onto Haley's small wrist.

"Aw, you guys really shouldn't have. I think I'm going to cry."

"I think between creepy Dan attacks and a highly extended hospital stay, it's safe to say you two have earned it," Brooke says as she sits at the foot of the bed.

"You were in on this?" Haley asks Nathan.

"Somewhat."

"It's good to have you back, Hales," Lucas says as he kisses her on the top of her head.

AN: I thought that was a sweet way to end chapter 7. Sorry I didn't update any sooner, I haven't really been home much. Please review, I love hearing what you guys have to say! I hope you guys are enjoying so far. Chapter 8 is on its way.


	8. Author's Note

**Authors Note:**

Hey guys! Just wanted to drop a note and let you guys know that because schools starting, I have about a million things to do and I'm going to be pretty busy, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to update as often, or even update at all. No worries, Chapter 8 is still on its way so keep an eye out for that. If and when I decide to take a break, I promise I'll tie up this story and leave you guys with some closure. For now just keep an eye out. Thanks!


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of these characters. **

AN: So I know it was around this time last year that I started, and sort of abandoned, this story. But if any of my readers are out there (or if any NEW readers still come across this story), here's Chapter 8. Sorry you had to wait a YEAR! If I can regain my readers back, I'll start updating again.

Haley is finally released from the hospital. Nathan decides it would be a good idea to go away with her for a weekend to the beach house, which Deb got out of her divorce from Dan. Once they get there, Nathan drops their bags by the front door and scoops Haley up into his arms and lifts her off the ground. (AN: Think season 4, prom episode, on the roof…)

"Nathan! Are you crazy! I'm 8 months pregnant!" Haley squeals.

"So? That doesn't mean we can't have a little fun."

"You're something else, Nathan Scott," Haley giggles and sighs, giving up.

Nathan carries her into the living room and gently sets her down on the couch. He kneels down next to her and kisses her tenderly. He then starts slowly kissing her neck.

"Nate, you have no idea how much I want this," Haley continues to laugh. "But I sorta think it'd be a good idea to wait until a bit after the baby's born…"

"I know, I know," Nathan stands up and starts walking away. "Stop being so irresistible, then."

"Mhm. I think I'm just going to close my eyes for a few minutes…" With that, Haley closes her eyes.

Nathan quietly sneaks out of the room, knowing that "a few minutes" will eventually turn into a much needed nap. As soon as he gets to the next room, he hears Haley calling for him, a hint of panic rising in her voice. He runs back into the living room, where she is still laying, with her sleepy eyes open.

"What is it? What happened?"

"Don't leave. I've been seeing these really creepy dreams ever since…well, you know." Haley rubs her tired eyes.

"Bastard," Nathan mumbles under his breath.

"What?"

"Nothing. Go back to sleep, I'm not going anywhere." Nathan says as he sits down on the floor and holds Haley's hand.

He finally lets go of her hand slowly, careful not to wake her, and sneaks out of the room and upstairs to the bedroom. Haley wakes up about an hour later, and checks her watch – 10:00 PM. She wonders how it got so late, and gets up. When she realizes Nathan's not downstairs, she goes up the stairs slowly.

"Nate? Are you up here?"

"I'm in the master bedroom!" Nathan calls out.

Haley opens the door to the bedroom and her jaw drops instantly. The room is lit up by what seems to be three or four dozen candles, found on every surface in the room except for the bed. There are rose petals thrown all over the bed and on the floor. Haley walks toward Nathan, who's standing by the bed smiling.

"What's all this for?"

"I just wanted to show you how much I love you and appreciate you. Once the baby's born, these romantic nights alone together are going to be a little sporadic. So I just wanted to make this night special."

"Nathan," Haley sighs happily and shakes her head. "I don't need all this. Just having you, and our baby, is enough for me."

"I know, but…"

Just then, Nathan's cell phone rings. He picks it up only to hear a very frantic Brooke on the other end.

AN: Stay tuned! Sorry for the cliffhanger! And sorry for making the end sort of cheesy and cliché, I just love Naley's cuteness and I can't help it sometimes. Anyway, leave me comments and I'll update soon when I know someone's reading!


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own One Tree Hill or any of these characters!!**

AN: Okay so someone warned me that a "script" format isn't allowed on this site? And I wasn't aware that I was even writing in "script form" but I decided to change the style a bit only to avoid any problems. But does anyone else know if the style I've been writing in so far is a problem? As far as fan fics go, that was my preferred style, and I also hate to switch styles in the middle of a story like this, but I guess I can try this out for a while. Anyway, chapter 10 is here! Enjoy!

The last person Nathan expected to hear on the other end of the phone line was Brooke, and her usual bubbly self sounded panicky.

"Brooke, slow down. What's up?" Nathan asks, trying hard to sound calm for Haley's sake.

"Lucas asked me to drop him off at the cemetery to visit Keith. When I was driving away, I saw Dan's car heading over there. And Luc's been talking about 'making him pay' for what he did to Haley," Brooke takes a deep breath on the other line.

"Oh man. Do you really think he'll confront him like that? Now?" Nathan glances over at Haley, who stares back at him, eyes wide with curiosity.

"Come on Nate, you know how he gets when he's mad. Especially if someone hurts Haley."

"Yeah, I know. I don't know what to do, we're well over an hour drive from there," Nathan closes his eyes and rubs his temples. "Look, maybe you should drive by there and see what's going on. But don't get out of your car. If you see anything happening, call the cops."

"Okay. I'll call you back and keep you posted. Nate, I really didn't mean to ruin your guys' weekend. Is Haley okay?"

"Yeah, she's fine. Alright well, I'll talk to you later."

As Nathan hangs up the phone, Haley walks over to him, careful not to knock over any candles.

"What was that about? What's going on?" Her big brown eyes search Nathan's, and he looks at her quietly. He silently wonders if he should lie about it, but as soon as he looks into her eyes he knows it's impossible. He desperately tries to stretch the truth to keep her from worrying too much.

"Brooke dropped Lucas off at the cemetery and she may have seen Dan there too. She thinks Luc might try to confront him."

"What? Nathan, we have to do something. What if Dan hurts him?"

"Hales, don't worry. It'll be fine. I wish I could strangle that bastard myself, but I can't do anything right now. We're over an hour away," Nathan sits down on the bed and looks at his hands. "I told Brooke to get the cops involved if anything serious goes down."

Haley slowly walks over to where Nathan is sitting and takes her hands in his. They look at each other, each lost in their own thoughts. Meanwhile...

"I was hoping I'd run into you here," Dan Scott smirks as Lucas turns around suddenly at the sound of his voice. "You look surprised to see me."

"You've got a lot of nerve." Lucas feels his hands instinctively curl into fists at his sides, and he seriously considers punching Dan right in the face. Dan seems to notice, and he laughs.

"Oh, what, you're going to punch your own father? Real classy."

"You're not my father," Lucas feels the anger rising in his voice. "Keith was my father, more than you ever were. And now? HE'S BURIED SIX FEET UNDER THE GROUND. WHY? BECAUSE YOU PUT HIM THERE."

Dan glances over at Keith's gravestone, and shakes his head. He doesn't even so much as flinch at Lucas' tone.

"You and all this crazy talk. Shame you can't get anybody to believe you. It's my word over yours, and I'm the mayor of this damn town," Dan continues to smirk.

With that, Lucas plunges at Dan and they wrestle, Dan trying to throw Lucas off of him and Lucas unsuccessfully trying to tackle Dan to the ground. At that moment, Brooke pulls up across the street with her car and gasps at what she's seeing. Just as she's getting ready to call the police, Dan violently throws Lucas off of him and Lucas falls on the ground.

"I'd think twice if I were you, Lucas. So close to graduation, and all those college acceptance letters," Dan shakes his head in mock sympathy. "What would your mother say if your entire future was gone? When you get arrested for assault? Yeah that's right, next time you come at me like this I'm going straight to the cops. Glad we had this chat, son."

As Dan turns to leave, Lucas calls out after him.

"YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR IT. ALL OF IT."

Dan just laughs and walks out of the cemetery, heading towards his car. Unsure of what to do, Brooke runs out of her car and over to where Lucas is, still on the ground.

"Brooke? Wha-what are you doing here?" He looks up at her, and seeing her beautiful green eyes looking down at him instantly makes him feel a little better.

"Oh, Luc. I shouldn't have left. I should have just stayed here with you. I saw Dan coming but I..."

"Shh," Lucas puts one finger up to Brooke's lips to shush her. "Don't you worry about any of this, pretty girl. Dan will get what he deserves, I know it."

Brooke sits down next to Lucas, and he holds her in his arms as they look at Keith's grave, still fresh with the lilies Karen brought over just that morning. Meanwhile, Haley and Nathan lay quietly in their bed, with Nathan's arms wrapped around Haley. They stare up at the ceiling, both thinking about Lucas and Dan.

AN: There you have it! Chapter 11's coming up sooner than soon. Just keep those comments coming, I love reading them! Let me know what you thought of this chapter, and also of this writing style that I picked up. I'll probably continue writing like this, if only to avoid getting my story deleted. I only wish there was a way to convert the older chapters too. Is there?


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own One Tree Hill or any of these characters!!**

AN: So in case you haven't yet noticed, I DID figure out a way to convert the format of my older chapters. It was a tedious process but I'm done (dialogue and everything is the same, all I did was get it out of that script form). Here's Chapter 11! Enjoy!

Lucas groans at the knock on the back door, and rolls over to look at the time on his alarm clock -- 11:00 AM.

"I'm coming," Lucas grunts and gets out of his bed. He opens the door to see Peyton, who seems flustered.

"Oh, uh, Luc," Peyton stammers, trying to avoid looking at Lucas' bare chest and boxers. "I didn't mean to wake you. I can uh, stop by later..."

"Don't worry about it, come in," Lucas rubs the sleep out of his eyes and shuts the door behind Peyton. "What's up?"

"Well, I actually wanted to talk to you about," Peyton's eyes shift uncomfortably, trying to look anywhere but into Lucas' eyes. "About the other night. I feel like there was some stuff that was... left unsaid."

Lucas raises his eyebrows, clearly taken aback. He opens his mouth to speak, but just then, Brooke walks in from the kitchen wearing nothing but one of his oversized t-shirts and holding two mugs of coffee. She quickly picks up on the tension in the room, but nevertheless seems genuinely happy to see her best friend.

"Hey P. Sawyer! I didn't know you were stopping by," Brooke says as she sets down the cups and hugs Peyton. "How have you been sleeping?"

"I haven't," Peyton attempts a smile, but it looks weak and defeated. "The nightmares are still there, every single night."

"Aw, sweetie, I'm sorry. I wish I could make this all go away for you," Brooke rubs Peyton's back gently.

Brooke's compassion instantly makes Peyton feel guilty about her feelings for Lucas.

"Yeah, well," Peyton heads towards the door. "I'm sorry I popped in at such a bad time. I should have called. I'll see you guys later."

"Wait, why don't you stay for breakfast?" Brooke looks over at Lucas and notices the discomfort on his face, but tries to ignore it.

"Nah, I already ate. Thanks though. I'll see you guys," Peyton shoots one last look at Lucas before opening the door and leaving.

"Hm. Awkward, much? Did I interrupt something or what?" Brooke turns to Lucas skeptically.

"It was nothing. I think Peyton's just still a little bit shaken after the whole Derrick thing. I guess she just wanted some company."

With that, Lucas goes over to where Brooke's standing and starts tickling her playfully until she falls back onto the bed, cracking up. Lucas gets on top of her, propping himself up with his hands, and looks down at her sparkling green eyes and deep dimples.

"Hey pretty girl, have I ever told you how much I love you?" He says gently.

"Hmm, definitely not often enough. Hey Broody," Brooke whispers, smiling affectionately. "I love you too."

They kiss, and Lucas rolls over so that he's lying next to her. She turns on her side to face him, and he holds her in his arms.

"Luc, I'm so glad Peyton has you," Brooke says softly, and Lucas closes his eyes, feeling a pang of guilt. "And Haley and Nate, of course," Brooke adds.

"Yeah," Lucas says with a deep breath.

Meanwhile, Nathan and Haley are at the beach. Haley's wearing a long, black maternity dress and Nathan's in cargo shorts, shirtless. They're walking hand in hand along the water. Last night, Brooke called them back to assure them that nothing drastic happened between Lucas and Dan, which left them feeling more relaxed and peaceful.

"Nathan," Haley says quietly, glancing up at her husband. "We need to talk."

"Uh oh," Nathan chuckles nervously. "That's never a good thing. Lay it on me."

Haley smiles. "No, no, it's nothing like that. I just wanted to talk to you about, um," she shoots another sideways glance at Nathan, hoping to catch his reaction. "Moving to Los Angeles."

Nathan stops walking and shakes his head. "I don't understand. Why would you possibly wanna do that?"

"Nathan, if you'll remember, Dan did mention the whole UCLA thing to me. I mean, it was pretty hard to think straight with a knife held to my throat," Haley sees Nathan wince at the words, but tries to push forward. "But since I woke up, I've been giving it a lot of thought."

"Hales, I already told you. Dan was just talking. That man is full of shit."

"I know, but he _did_ say UCLA wants to give you a shot. That's amazing, and it's such a great school," Haley looks down at the sand and traces out a pattern nervously with her bare foot. "I'd move out there with you in a heartbeat. You know I'd go anywhere for you. I could apply too, maybe start a year late since I've already missed the deadline. Anyway, taking a year off school might be good for me, with the baby."

"What are you talking about? You have your heart set on that performing arts school. And we already worked out a babysitting schedule with my mom, she'll take care of the baby when we're in school. We have the perfect life right here in Tree Hill."

"Well didn't you say Dan offered to move out there too?" Haley asks slowly. "Maybe he could help out and..."

Nathan cuts her off sharply. "Hales, there's NO way I'm letting him into our life again. That's out of the question. Did you suddenly forget that he THREATENED you? With a KNIFE? When you're eight months PREGNANT?!"

"But Nathan, maybe he was just..."

"Just drop it Haley. I'm not doing what Dan says, and there's NO way in HELL I'm letting him near this family, DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?"

Haley feels the tears welling up in her eyes at Nathan's angry tone.

"All I was thinking of was you. _Your_ future, _your_ relationship with your father. I'm sorry if that was so horrible of me."

With tears slowly rolling down her cheeks, Haley turns and walks away, heading back towards the beach house. Instead of going after her, Nathan stays right where he is, turning to look out at the water with his hands in his pockets, deep in his thoughts.

AN: So there it is! I know we were seriously lacking some Brucas cuteness so I had to throw in a moment with them. As you can see, things are starting to heat up again! So keep reading and reviewing! Thanks!


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of these characters!**

Haley sniffles as she finally reaches the beach house. Once inside, she picks up the phone and calls the one person she can always count on to make her feel better.

"Hello?" The sound of Lucas' voice on the other line provides instant comfort.

"Hey, Luc," Haley replies, trying to stop herself from crying again.

"Haley. What's wrong?"

Haley smiles into the phone, slightly amused by his amazing best-friend ability: always knowing when something is wrong with her, no matter how hard she tries to hide it.

"Nathan and I sorta had a fight today. And I just feel like there was something more to it that he just wasn't telling me. And it's really bugging me."

"Oh no," Lucas sighs on the other end. "What was it about?"

"Moving to Los Angeles so he can play for UCLA. But that wasn't even the part that freaked him out, not really. It was the slightest mention of Dan that set him off completely," Haley closes her eyes at the memory. "He looked so mad, and he was yelling. Nathan doesn't raise his voice at me, he never has. He didn't even come after me when I left."

"Oh, Hales," Lucas sounds uncomfortable on the other line, and Haley notices.

"What's going on? I can't help but feel like there's something both of you guys are keeping from me."

"Haley, the man held a knife to your throat and practically demanded that you leave Nathan," Lucas points out dryly. "You don't think that would piss him off, just a bit?"

Haley rolls her eyes and wipes at her tear stained cheeks. "Come on Luc, there's something more to it. So spill."

She hears Lucas sigh awkwardly on the phone, and there's a long, thoughtful pause. Finally, he begins.

"I really think Nathan should be the one to be telling you this. And I hate doing this over the phone. But, you're a part of this family and I think you deserve to know..."

With that, Lucas tells Haley all about Dan murdering his brother, their uncle, Keith. He starts at the very beginning, explaining in full detail how he found out, and Haley begins to sense all the angry thoughts and emotions that flooded him in the past few months.

"And Nathan was the only one I could think of confiding in," Lucas says sadly. "I knew he'd believe me. We just haven't figured out how to prove it to anyone else yet."

All Haley can do on the other end is gasp. She thanks Lucas and tells him she'll call him later, barely choking out the right words. When Nathan comes back two hours later, he finds her lying on the couch with a hand covering her eyes. Her whole body looks tense, and the shock clearly hasn't set in yet.

"Haley?" Spending a couple of hours on the beach had calmed Nathan down and led him to realize that Haley really was looking out for his best interest, and hadn't meant any harm. In his mind, he beat himself up for being so rude to her, letting his temper get the best of him. After watching the water for a long time, thinking about Dan, Keith, Haley, and his own future as a father, Nathan knew that he had to hurry back here and apologize to her. "Hales, are you awake?"

"Why, Nathan?" Haley replies weakly, and it sounds as if she's been crying for a while now. Her hand is still covering her eyes, and she doesn't shift her position whatsoever.

"Haley, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. I just let all my hatred for Dan build up inside me, and I snapped. You don't know how much I hate myself for raising my voice at you," Nathan walks over to the couch and kneels down so that he's at eye level with Haley, who still hasn't budged. He adds softly, "I love and respect you more than anyone. And I was way out of hand. Please forgive me."

Haley finally moves her hand from her face and opens her eyes. When she turns her head to face Nathan, he sees that her normally cheerful, beautiful brown eyes are red, puffy and grief-stricken.

"Nathan," Haley says quietly. "Why would you keep something like this from me?"

It takes a minute for Nathan to really grasp the question. Once he realizes that they're having two different conversations, his face goes pale.

"Hales..."

"Part of this whole marriage thing is not keeping secrets from each other. I thought we had established that point already, gotten past that. But apparently not," Haley's sad voice suddenly shifts to a sharper, angry tone. "It seems like all you've been doing is hiding things from me. First it was the point shaving, and fine, I'll admit I can see why you were scared of telling me at first. But this?! Why would you not tell me Dan killed Keith?"

"Haley, you're pregnant. I didn't think it would be healthy to throw something like this at you right now. I was waiting for the right time."

"Ohh I see, you probably wanted to see my reaction when I watch the evening news someday and see Dan being hauled off to jail, huh?" Haley adds bitterly, her sarcastic tone hitting Nathan hard. "I thought we were a family, Nate."

His eyes widen at this. "We _are _a family, Hales. Of course we are."

"Then how could you possibly think that, by not telling me my father-in-law and future grandfather to my kid is a murderer, you were protecting me? I mean, of all people, he killed KEITH. The one man who has been more of a father to myself _and _Luc than our 'fathers' ever were. Did you not think I deserved to know?"

Nathan resists the urge to raise his voice again, although he feels the anger burning in his chest and up through his throat. "He's not your father-in-law and he's definitely not gonna be in our son's life. All I want at this point is to see justice being served. I want the satisfaction of knowing that Dan's gonna be locked up someday, for life."

"Nathan, I know you'll make sure he stays away from our family. But that's not the point here, I'm not worried about that," Haley closes her eyes and rubs her temples.

"Babe, don't get worked up over this. You're due in less than a month. You're not supposed to be dealing with stress."

"Well then you should have told me when you found out. Months ago."

Haley gets up slowly from the couch, ignoring Nathan's outstretched arms. She crosses her arms across her chest and walks over to the staircase.

"I'd like to go home."

"Baby," Nathan begins to protest. "Come on, we were supposed to stay for another two days. This is supposed to be a vacation, a getaway. Our time together before the baby comes."

"Nathan, I said I'd like to go home," Haley says firmly.

Nathan stands at the foot of the stairs, drained and defeated, and watches her carefully make her way up.

AN: Ahh, I definitely prefer writing cheesy cute Naley scenes! But I hope you guys are enjoying, keep the reviews coming! And just to give some of my readers a heads up.. I'm working on a new story, the first chapter should be up within the next couple of days. It's obviously OTH but a lot different than this one. That doesn't mean I'm gonna abandon this story (again). I'll be working on both, so chapter 13 will be here soon and also keep an eye out for the new one and let me know what you think! Thanks!


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of these characters!**

Nathan sighs and lets Haley go upstairs without protest. He assumes that she's packing her bags, since she's deadset on ending their vacation early and going back to Tree Hill. Not that he blames her. He realizes that he should have told her about Dan and Keith as soon as he found out, and keeping it from her this long only makes the pain worse, for both of them. He sits in the living room, stunned and defeated, staring at the wall in front of him for some time. After a while, he decides to check up on Haley and see if she's cooled off. He goes upstairs and finds her in the bedroom, sitting on the floor at the foot of the bed, crying.

"Baby," Nathan says as he settles down next to her and takes her in his arms. This time, she doesn't move away or resist his touch.

"Oh, Nathan," Haley says through tears that are flowing down faster now. "I shouldn't have snapped at you. I just, the news just hit me so hard, I freaked out. I don't ever want to fight, okay? I-I've been sitting here thinking about Keith, and Karen. They were so in love. And in a matter of seconds it was all taken from them, from her."

"I know, Hales. And I'm sorry for not telling you any sooner. I should have."

Haley snuggles up closer to him and they kiss tenderly. They sit there on the floor for hours, talking about everything and anything, and they decide to stay the night but head back home in the morning.

The next day, after they arrive at Tree Hill, Haley calls Peyton and Brooke and invites them over to the apartment for some girl time. Meanwhile, Lucas tells Nathan that he wants to have a man-to-man talk, and they go out to the Rivercourt to shoot around.

"Nate, I'm sorry again for telling Haley about Dan," Lucas says, and it's clear that his apology is sincere. "But she had a right to know."

"I know, you were right. I was so stupid for not telling her. But now the question is, what are we gonna do about it? How can we get Dan locked up for good?"

"I'm not so sure. I've been trying to get in contact with the only witness, that girl from our school, but she hasn't been answering any calls and no one was at her house. So unless we can find some sort of evidence, or another witness..."

There's a silence as they both think it through.

"We'll come up with a way to get him eventually," Lucas says finally. "But I actually wanted to talk to you about something else, get your input."

"Sure, anything."

"Peyton and I made out."

Nathan stops dribbling the ball and looks at Lucas, eyes wide. "Whoa, what? When?"

"It was when Haley was in the hospital. She was crying, and I was comforting her... I guess it just sort of happened. It was nothing. But then she came over the other day and she wanted to talk about it. I think she, you know, took it all the wrong way."

"Ya think?" Nathan laughs, trying to lighten up Lucas' solemn expression. It works. Lucas chuckles and steals the ball from Nathan's hands.

"Here's the thing," Lucas adds simply as he throws the basketball over his shoulder halfheartedly. "Brooke doesn't know."

"Yikes. Well, if it really didn't mean anything, it's no big deal. I don't think Brooke would freak over that if you were to tell her."

"Of course it didn't mean anything, I'm crazy about Brooke. But apparently Peyton feels differently."

Nathan sighs. "Graduation's only a week away. Couldn't we all have just ended out the year peacefully? No terrifying visits to the hospital, no scandalous make-out sessions with our girlfriends' best friends..."

Lucas punches Nathan in the gut and they both laugh. They talk about lighter subjects and continue to shoot around and crack jokes.

Meanwhile, at Haley's apartment, the girls are drinking iced tea and talking about their crazy high school memories. Suddenly, Haley puts one hand on her tummy.

"Guys..." Before she can say any more, Brooke and Peyton look down to see a small pool of what looks like water on the floor below her.

"Oh, my gosh!" Brooke jumps from her seat and starts pacing around the room. "Oh my gosh. Haley, couldn't you have held that thing in a while longer? You're not even officially due for another week!"

Haley tries to smile, but instead she groans in pain. When the pain dies down for just a minute, she says, "I'm sorry Brooke, I don't have much control over these things. I guess Baby Scott wanted to kick his way out a week early."

Brooke continues to pace as Peyton scoots closer to Haley and holds her hand. Haley tightens her grip as the pain starts up again and she lets out a wail.

"Okay, calm down Brooke," Brooke says to herself. "You can SO do this. Well, not the whole pulling-the-baby-out-of-Haley's-privates thing, that's all yours P Sawyer."

"Brooke!" Peyton groans and Brooke suddenly stops in the middle of the room. "Pull yourself together!"

"Okay, okay, you're right. You walk Haley out to your car, I'll call Nathan on his cell phone and tell him to get his butt over to the hospital before I have a nervous breakdown."

The girls all nod, surprised that, of the three of them, Brooke was the one who came up with a reasonable plan this time. She picks up the phone and dials Nathan's number. Suddenly, they hear Nathan's ringtone coming from the bedroom.

"Oh no," Peyton says, eyes wide. "Don't tell me he left his..."

With that, Brooke looks like she's about to faint.

AN: Haha I just love Brooke. Baby Scott is on his way!! And my new story is up too so you guys should check that out and see if you like it, it's definitely different but I'm excited about it. Well, chapter 14 will be up soon! Keep reviewing!


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of these characters!**

Brooke finally snaps out of her panicked daze and pulls herself together. Peyton's already walking Haley out to the car. Brooke tries Lucas' cell phone, but all she gets is his voicemail. She runs outside and slips into the backseat next to Haley, while Peyton gets into the driver's seat and puts her key into the ignition. Haley grabs Brooke's hand and squeezes, still groaning from the pain.

"Okay, now what?" Brooke asks Peyton desperately. "I called boyfriend but his phone is dead."

Peyton winces at the word 'boyfriend', but keeps her eyes glued to the road in front of her.

"Well, they're most likely at the Rivercourt, right? That's on the way to the hospital anyways, we can pick them up," Peyton says.

Brooke and Haley agree that that's their best bet right now, and they're all hoping to see the boys there. Peyton pulls up into the parking lot, and when they spot Nathan and Lucas shooting around, she honks the horn loudly. The boys both sprint over to the car.

"What's going on?" Lucas stops to ask, but Nathan's already sliding into the backseat and grabbing hold of Haley's other hand. Lucas gets shotgun and Peyton speeds off towards the hospital.

"So, what kind of a genius leaves his phone at home when he knows his wife could go into labor ANY MINUTE?" Brooke yells at Nathan, but he doesn't even look at her. He lets Haley squeeze his hand until it turns red, and plants a kiss on her damp cheek.

"Hang in there babe," he says soothingly, trying his hardest to calm himself down as well. Brooke continues to scold him, and Haley smiles at this in between her cries of pain.

Finally, they pull up into the hospital parking lot and rush inside, Haley holding onto Nathan for support. As soon as they enter the waiting room, a nurse spots her and gently seats her in a wheelchair. Nathan, still holding her hand, takes one last glance over his shoulder at Lucas as the nurse wheels Haley away.

"We'll be here," Lucas says, knowing from the look in Nathan's eyes that he's a nervous wreck, but is doing a good job of containing it. Brooke smiles and blows a kiss at Haley, and Peyton waves. The three of them then settle into three empty chairs in the waiting room.

"Looks like we may be here for a while," Lucas says, leaning over to kiss Brooke on the forehead. Peyton starts flipping through a magazine.

"I'm so happy for Haley and Nathan," Brooke says after thinking for a moment. "A baby. It's so amazing."

"I know," Lucas traces an invisible design on Brooke's palm with his index finger. "It feels like it was yesterday, I was freaking over the news of their secret wedding." They both laugh at the memory, and it seems as if they're in their own little world as Peyton continues to thumb through the magazine.

Suddenly, Peyton jumps to her feet. "I'm gonna go upstairs and check out the cafe they have, maybe grab a snack. Do you guys want anything?" Peyton asks the couple.

"Actually," Brooke stands up, but her hand is still holding Lucas'. "I'll come with."

"I'll stay here in case the nurses come back out with any baby news," Lucas says, letting go of Brooke's hand and picking up the magazine Peyton dropped.

"Okay. What can I get you then, boyfriend?"

"I'm fine. You girls take your time."

Brooke leans over to give him a quick peck on the lips, but Peyton's already headed towards the elevator. They wait for a group of people to pile out, but when they step inside they are the only two in there. Peyton presses the button for level six.

"Ah, I'm so excited for Naley," Brooke gushes, but Peyton hardly cracks a smile. "I can't wait to see Baby Scott! And Tutorgirl hasn't even talked about baby names yet, I wonder what they'll name him...oh whatever, with _those_ genes this baby's gonna be the cutest. A little heartbreaker for sure. How much longer do you think it'll be before we see him?!"

"I kissed Lucas." Peyton finally breaks her silence in the brief moment before the elevator doors open to the sixth level. She's staring straight ahead, careful not to meet Brooke's eyes. When the doors finally open, neither of them move. Finally, Brooke reaches over and presses the "close doors" button, and turns to look Peyton in the face now.

"Excuse me?" Her face is stone cold, her voice bitter.

AN: Sorry for the somewhat short chapter, but it was yet another dramatic one! Anyway, review please! Chapter 15 will be up sooner than soon. I've also updated my new story with its second chapter so be sure to check that one out as well and please let me know your thoughts on it. Brucas fans will appreciate it!


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of One Tree Hill!**

Brooke keeps her finger on the "close doors" button to keep anyone else from entering the elevator. She stares Peyton down and waits for an answer. Peyton finally breaks the silence, and there are tears in her eyes; she's trying her hardest to avoid making eye contact with Brooke.

"Brooke, I would never want to hurt you," she says weakly, unable to stop the tears now. "It all just happened so fast and..."

"Yeah but it _happened_," Brooke says bitterly. "And P.S. - you _did_ hurt me."

"I just...I've had these feelings for Lucas for so long, and I've tried to keep them deep inside of me but, I just can't."

Brooke looks at Peyton, disgusted. "Unbelievable. Peyton, you were supposed to be my BEST FRIEND. The last person I would expect this from."

"I AM your best friend," Peyton tries to protest but Brooke just shakes her head.

"No. You're not. I'd be happy if I never have to look at your ugly, lying face ever again."

Peyton feels the tears coming down faster now. "Brooke, I'm so sorry."

"Yeah, well, sorry doesn't mean anything anymore." Brooke presses the button for the first level and the elevator starts to go back down.

"Well then you should know that Lucas is crazy about you," Peyton says quietly. "He pushed me away. He really loves you, Brooke."

Brooke just stares straight ahead in silence. When the doors open again, they're back at the waiting room. Lucas looks up from his magazine as Brooke storms through the room and out the door. He looks at Peyton, whose face is stained with tears, and then gets up to run out after Brooke.

"Brooke! Brooke, wait up! What's going on?" Lucas calls after her. She stops and turns around, and he walks up to her. He pushes a strand of hair from her angry face.

"Why didn't you tell me about the kiss?" She asks simply.

Lucas looks down and rubs his temples. "Because it didn't mean anything. Brooke, please believe me when I tell you you're the one for me. I'm not interested in Peyton or anyone else. You know I would never do anything to hurt you. You're too important to me."

After a moment, she nods slowly and steps into his open arms. He wraps his arms around her and she rests her head on his chest. "I believe you," she whispers.

"I love you, Brooke Davis," Lucas coos into her ear.

"I love you too, boyfriend."

"We should get back inside," Lucas kisses the top of her head and takes her hand, leading her back into the hospital. When they walk into the waiting room, they notice that Peyton isn't there. They sit and cuddle for another thirty minutes before a nurse comes out.

"Excuse me, Mr. Scott?"

"Yes," Lucas jumps to his feet immediately, eager to hear some news about Haley and the baby. Brooke stands up and takes his hand.

"They're ready for you," the nurse says with a smile. "You can go see your brother and his wife now. And your new nephew."

Lucas stands stunned for just a moment before Brooke pulls him after the nurse. She leads them into the elevator and up a few floors to the maternity ward. The walk down the long hallway seems to take forever. Finally, the nurse stops in front of an open door. Lucas and Brooke anxiously walk in, still holding hands. The first thing they see is Haley lying in bed, with Nathan standing over her. In her arms is a beautiful baby wrapped up in a blanket, and he seems to be staring right up at Nathan. Brooke squeals but Lucas is breathless.

"James Lucas Scott," Haley says softly to her baby. "Meet your uncle Luc."

Lucas feels the tears burning in his eyes but he smiles. He sits down in the chair right next to the bed, and Haley carefully hands the baby over to him. He just sits there holding the baby gently, looking down at him in amazement. Brooke wipes the tears from her eyes and sits down on the arm of Lucas' chair.

Just then, Peyton appears in the doorway but no one notices. She stands there quietly, observing the scene in the room. Brooke and Lucas are smiling and talking to the baby in Lucas' arms. Nathan sits down on the bed next to Haley and they whisper to each other, both smiling widely. She leans in and they share a kiss. Peyton takes one last look at Brooke and Lucas and then turns around and leaves.

"You did so good baby," Nathan says to Haley. "I'm still in awe." Lucas stands up and hands Jamie over to Nathan. Nathan looks down at him affectionately. "I feel like this is the first day of our lives."

Brooke and Lucas look at the adorable family and then at each other. Lucas pulls Brooke closer to him and they kiss passionately. The entire room is filled with warmth and love.

**AN:** So I wanted to end this chapter on a sweeter note! Yay for Naley and Brucas! Oh and I really don't mean to make Peyton seem like THAT much of a bitch, obviously what she did was bad but I DO like her and I know I've been hard on her in this story LOL but that's the only way it would work. Anyway, 16 is coming soon! Review please, I love reading them!

And I'll be updating my new story today also. I think it's really starting to pick up with chapter three so please be sure to read! Thanks!


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill or any of the characters!**

Just two short weeks after Jamie's birth is graduation. Haley gives her valedictorian speech and kicks butt, just as Nathan had predicted. Throughout the whole thing, Brooke doesn't so much as look at Peyton. Once the ceremony's over, Lucas sneaks away to briefly congratulate Peyton while Brooke talks to Rachel.

"We finally did it," he says, and gives her a friendly hug. "Congratulations."

"Thanks, you too."

"Any big plans for the summer?" He asks as his eyes flicker back over to where Brooke is standing, her back to them.

"Actually," Peyton smiles. "I'm going away for the summer. A road trip, destination unknown as of yet."

"That's great, Peyton. Have fun with that."

"What about you?" Now her eyes glance over at Brooke, who is still unaware that Lucas is talking to her.

"Just staying local for now. Brooke's, uh, moving in with me. We're apartment hunting, somewhere close to school." Lucas' eyes meet Peyton's, but she smiles genuinely now.

"Aw Luc, that's really great. Speaking of, could you give this to her?" She hands him a sealed envelope, simply labeled "Brooke". He slips it into his back pocket.

"Will do. Alright, well good luck. And don't be a stranger. Give her some time, this will all work itself out," he hugs her one last time and turns around to go back to where Brooke, Nathan and Haley are standing.

The foursome go out for a quick celebration dinner before Haley and Nathan decide to head back home to the baby, who they had left with Deb.

"We're home!" Nathan calls out the minute they walk into the apartment.

"In Jamie's room!" Deb calls back.

Haley drops her purse and hurries into the extra bedroom that they converted into a nursery. She scoops Jamie up out of his crib and into her arms. "Hi baby, I missed you."

Nathan smiles as he watches his wife and son lovingly. Deb touches his arm and walks out of the room, motioning for him to follow.

"He's such a sweet baby," Deb smiles and Nathan nods in agreement. "He barely cried all day!"

"It's funny, we weren't even gone for an entire day and I missed him so much. We both did."

Deb smiles, but slowly her face gets serious and Nathan notices.

"What's up, mom?"

"It's Dan. He's in jail."

Nathan just stares at her in amazement at first. "What?"

"Apparently he turned himself in," Deb lowers her voice to a whisper now. "For killing Keith?"

Nathan instinctively feels his hands forming fists at his sides, but he just looks at Deb's confused but angry face.

"Is it true, Nathan? Jimmy didn't kill Keith? It was..." She can't even bring herself to say his name.

Nathan nods. "Yeah. Lucas found out, there was a witness. She told him everything. He told me, but we couldn't figure out how to get anyone else to believe us. But wow, he actually turned himself in?"

"There's more. I went to visit him, yesterday, right after I got the call. He said the guilt was tearing him up inside, and he knew what he had to do. He also told me that once he realized he couldn't be a part of this family anymore, a part of your new family, he had nothing else to live for. So he went straight to the cops and turned himself in. I just told him I hope he goes to hell, and left."

Nathan stands there, stunned. Dan actually caring about him and his family? The only person Dan has ever cared for is himself. The news is just too much to try and make sense of, and Nathan is still skeptical of Dan's underlying intentions; but they don't matter at this point. He's out of their lives for good, and Nathan is grateful for that. Haley comes out of the nursery.

"He's asleep," she whispers quietly. She instantly notices Nathan's serious expression, and looks from him to Deb, and then back at him. "What's going on?"

"Dan turned himself in." Nathan whispers, still unable to really believe the words even as he says them aloud. Haley's eyes widen. She breathes a sigh of relief and wraps her arms around Nathan. He holds her tightly, and Deb quietly tells them she'll call them in the morning and slips out the front door.

After thinking quietly for a moment, Nathan looks down into Haley's eyes. "You know, at first the news was a shock. I mean, it still is. But now I'm just relieved. I shouldn't be upset, right? I mean, I shouldn't feel bad for being happy about this??"

"Of course not, Nathan. Dan was a bad person. He deserves to be in there. You have good reason to be relieved."

She's right. Now they can live this amazing new life together without any worries about Dan and his threats. He leans down and kisses her passionately. She wraps her arms around his neck, and he tightens his around her waist. Feeling her body so close to his feels so good after the long day. She backs up and lowers herself onto the couch, and he slowly situates himself on top of her. Just as they begin to make out again, they hear a loud cry coming from Jamie's room. Nathan laughs and gets up.

"Baby duty," he says, but rather than being irritated he's genuinely happy. Haley gets up and, hand in hand, the new parents go into the baby's room.

**AN: **Oh how I love Naley! I feel this story slowly winding down after maybe a few more chapters but the possibility of starting a sequel someday is alive so don't worry, loyal readers! I've also started yet another new Brucas story, because I just wasn't feeling the other one so I ended up deleting it. But I think you guys will like the new one, so check it out! And REVIEW please!


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of the characters!**

After several weeks of apartment hunting, Lucas and Brooke finally settle on a cute condo close to UNC, where they'll both be going to school in the fall. After a long day of dealing with the stress of moving, just as the dark settles in outside, Lucas and Brooke sit on the floor of their new, empty living room. There are boxes of unpacked stuff everywhere, but they have yet to go furniture shopping. Lucas lights a fire in the beautiful fireplace and they cuddle up in front of it.

"So, boyfriend," Brooke says in her typical low, seductive fashion. "You know we have to officially make ourselves welcome in our new home, mark our territory..."

He smiles and shakes his head, already knowing what she's suggesting. With that, she pushes him back gently so that he's lying on the bare floor and gets on top of him, giggling as they begin to make out heavily. Lucas runs his hands along every curve of her body, and at that moment he knows there is no where else in the world he could be; she is the one he wants to spend the rest of his life with. If ever there was any doubt, he's now sure that moving in together was the right decision for them at this point in their relationship. It'll only get better from here. They make love right there on the floor of their new living room, the fire blazing behind them.

The next morning, Brooke wakes up to a loud crash in the kitchen. She props herself up onto her elbows, her favorite blanket covering her bare body. She looks over at Lucas who is shirtless in a pair of jeans. He walks over to her with a tray and sets it down on the floor in front of her, before plopping down next to her himself. On the tray, she sees a plate of eggs and bacon, another topped with a stack of blueberry waffles, and two cups of coffee.

"Lucas!" She snuggles up closer to him and he kisses the top of her head. "You didn't have to do this."

"I know. But I wanted to," he says. She looks up at him and he lowers his head so that the tips of their noses touch and they look affectionately into each other's eyes. "I love you."

"I love you more," She says, breaking the stare and stuffing a forkful of waffles into her mouth. "This is delicious!"

"Yeah, well, you pick up a thing or two when your mom owns a cafe. It finally came in handy," he says and opens his mouth, prompting Brooke to feed him some eggs.

They finish their breakfast, talking and laughing the entire time. Lucas feels as if a huge weight has been lifted off of his shoulders ever since Nathan told him about Dan a few days ago. He's been in better spirits, and Brooke has noticed it too. She loves seeing him happy, and his laugh warms her heart more than anything. But, when they're done with breakfast, his expression is serious.

"Brooke, there's something I have to show you. I should have done it weeks ago but I've been waiting for the right time."

He pulls Peyton's envelope, still sealed, out from his back pocket and holds it out to her. She looks down at it, instantly recognizing Peyton's handwriting.

"What's this?" She asks, still not taking it from his hand.

"Peyton gave it to me on graduation. Asked me to pass it on to you."

She narrows her eyes at the thought of Peyton. Lucas puts his arm around her while his other hand is still holding the envelope out.

"Babe, I really think you should read it. You can't be mad at her forever."

Frowning, Brooke snatches it from his hand. He kisses her gently on the cheek and gets up to take the dishes back to the kitchen, leaving her to tear it open alone. She pulls the neatly folded note out and begins to read...

_"Brooke,_

_First of all, you have every reason to be mad. It was such an incredibly careless and stupid thing for me to do, kissing Lucas like that. And I know that not even a thousand apologies can express how guilty I feel. But I can't entirely blame it on my frustration over the Haley incident, either. You deserve to know the truth, and the truth is that I did have feelings for Lucas. I tried pushing them away and I struggled with it for a long time until it eventually became too much, hence the kiss. It was a moment of stupidity that I wish I could take back, not only for the sake of your relationship but moreso, for the sake of our friendship. I love you Brooke, you know that. And I'd be more than willing to suppress any feelings I may have for Lucas for YOU. Because, mark my words Brooke Davis, you're more important to me than any guy, ever. Hopefully you'll someday realize that and find it in your heart to forgive me._

_Anyway, as surreal as it is for us NOT to be speaking on graduation after being side by side since day one, I have to congratulate you. We finally made it! Although I'm not sure if 'the real world' is ready for Brooke Davis, I know that whatever you take on, you'll ROCK IT. As for me, I'm road tripping down to Los Angeles this summer. And...surprise! I won't be coming back. Yes, I've decided to settle down and go to school in LA, start a new life for myself. And guess what? You're the only one I've told. Because to me, best friends forever really is forever. I hope someday our paths will cross again, and we'll be able to be friends again, but until then... take care of yourself, Brooke. _

_With love always,_

_Peyton" _

Brooke looks up from the note, speechless. She sees Lucas watching her from the kitchen. He comes over to her, but instead of asking about the note he just puts his arms around as her eyes tear up. She throws her arms around his neck and cries quietly on his shoulder, feeling somewhat guilty for flipping out and not even saying goodbye to her best friend before she moved. Of course, she doesn't entirely forget about the anger she still feels, but it's slowly overcome with sadness, sadness that their friendship had to come down to this. Lucas just sits there, holding and comforting her for as long as she needs him.

**AN: **So there you are, lovely readers! Some of you asked for more Brucas, so I decided to focus on them in this chapter. Leave me reviews! Chapter 18 will be up sometime this week.


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